On 23 May 2010, 183 members of the Korean Teachers and Educators Union (KTU) were dismissed from their posts for allegedly joining the Democratic Labor Party (DLP), an opposition party, based on the fact that the individuals made private donations to the DLP. Jeong Jin-Hoo, president of the KTU, begun a hunger strike in protest. The Ministry of Education, Science and Technology made its decision to dismiss the teachers for breaching a political neutrality clause that teachers and civil servants are expected to follow under the Civil Servants’ Law.
The decision was postponed awaiting legal judgement, but in October the Ministry again ordered each provincial education office to proceed with the immediate dismissal of 134 of the teachers as from 1 November, before the official court’s verdict. Four others would be suspended. Of those fired, 50 teachers ― who publicly denounced the government ― would be dismissed without benefits, depriving them of pensions and other perks given to civil servants. The dismissal process was expected to take about 60 days. Some unionists began hunger strikes and were planning anti-government demonstrations.
Unionists state that school principals who have made donations to the ruling political party, on the same basis as the 183 teachers, have never been subject to the same harsh disciplinary measures from the political authorities and that there is a catalogue of disproportionate disciplinary measures taken against KTU leaders and members who take part in trade union activity, amounting to union discrimination.
In 2009, 16 KTU officials had been detained after a march denouncing the government’s decision to punish 88 KTU teachers who were considered to be the instigators of a «Declaration of State Affairs» signed by 17,000 teachers.